Refrigerating apparatus



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

FRANK A. IVALIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,045, dated July 16,1889.

Application filed April l2, 1888. Serial No. 270,405. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. WALIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago,'in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful vImprovements in. RefrigeratingApparatus;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus in whichice is used to cool the surrounding atmosphere in an adjacent inclosure,in which latter may be placed articles of food, as meats, vegetables,&c., for preservation, so far. as that may be attained by a reducedtemperature of the degree commonly found suitable for the purpose,according to the nature of the article sought to be temporarilypreserved. The appara-tus may also serve to cool the air of apartmentsfor rendering the temperature thereof less oppressive to their occupantsin the heated terms or seasons of the year than in warm climates wouldordinarily prevail; and the objects of my invention are, first, toprovide an apparatus that shall be of simple construction and readilyoperated; second, that shall be inexpensive comparatively, and, third,that shall be durable. I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation,partly sectional 5 Fig. 2, an end elevation, partly sectional; and Fig.3, a vertical cross-section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A is the inner chamber or ice-box, and is formed of sheets of galvanizediron, preferably, or of other similar material of strong and durablequalities, such as is commonly used for, similar purposes, the sheetsbeing bolted together or riveted in `any suitable manner, the receptaclebeing supported underneath on cross pieces or bars, and braced on itssides by vertical supports bolted or riveted thereto, said cross-piecesand vertical supports being preferably formed of angle-iron, the wholebeing securely fastened together and provided with a base adapted tostand within a basin and sustain the chamber therein in au uprightposition.

The chamber is provided with a chute B at one of its ends near the top,the chute being "of such a length as may be found desirable forextending through an opening that may be provided therefor in one of theWalls of the room or inclosure in which the cooling apparatus is placed.

The outer end of the chute B is provided with a cover l), which servesto close the end of the chute when not in use for filling ice into theice-chamber.

In the top of the apparatus there may be an opening C, provided with acover c, which may be used instead of the chute B for admitting ice intothe ice-chamber in 'filling the same. In some cases both ice-fillingopenings may be provided.

a are the vertical supports, to which are bolted the plates of iron usedin forming the sides of the ice-chamber.

a are the cross-pieces beneath the icechamber A, the same being boltedfast to the upright supports a.

` D is an outer enveloping and protecting frame formed of plates ofperforated and, preferably, of galvanized iron. The lower halves d ofthe sides of the enveloping-frame D, and it may be of the ends also ofthe protecting-frame D, are so constructed that they may be readilymoved, as by sliding, to give access to the ice-chamber A, and thusadmit of an attendants using any suitable device for scraping off thefrostthat gathers at times on the outer surfaces of the ice-chamber.These lower parts (l may be vertically divided, so that one section maybe caused to slide upon the other, the upper edge of the part or parts dbeing bent over or looped to engage a correspondingly-bent portion ofthe lower edge of the upper perforated section CZ, as shown in Figs. 2and 3.

d2 are the lower halves of the ends of the protecting-frame D, and cl3the stationary upper halves when the apparatus is constructed to provideincreased facility of access to the sides of the ice-chamber A forcleaning olf the frost. The perforations of the protecting or envelopingframe D allow the air that has IOO become cooled because of itsproximity to the sides of the ice-chamber to pass out into the room tobe cooled, other and warmer air supplying its place, and the saidenvelopingframe, notwithstanding its perforations, serves to shield theice-chamber and to prevent the frosts accumulated on the outer sides ofthe ice-chamber A from fallin g out into the room. y

E is a basin receptacle for catching the water coming by melting fromthe ice, or from the condensation of vapor, as the sweatings, on thesides of the ice-chamber A or the enveloping frame D. This basin mayformed of any suitable materials, as of wood with a leaden inner casing,or the whole of it may be formed of galvanized iron, the icebox and itsenvelope resting within the same.

The ice-chamber is contracted on its sides from its bottom to its top.This construction is for the purpose of facilitating the settling of theice (as it is wasted in melting) upon v what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

the bottom of the ice-chamber and away from its sides. The settling ofblocks of the ice as the melting proceeds is thus facilitated andsupporting-bars, in combination with a perforated iron casing composedof the removable part d and a stationary part d', the latter beingrivet'ed to the supporting-bars, substantially as and for the 'purposehereinbei fore set forth.

undue strainon the side and end walls obvated, while the ice is massedor kept t0- gether in a body, and at all times resting upon the bottomof the ice-chamber instead of clinging to and dragging down upon itssides. A valve or plug a4 may be provided in the bottom of theice-chamber for draining off into the basin E any water that may have acg tem consists of three horizontal pipes f f f2 and two vertical pipes gg. The vertical pipe g is provided with a stop-cock or valve l h, andthe horizontal pipe f2 with a valve or stop-cock 71.. When the 'valve 7Lin the vertical pipe g is closed, the water gathering in into theice-chamber either through the chute Lthe ice-chamber A passes outthrough the lpipe g into the basin E, and thence out into the verticalpipe g', either through the horizontal pipe f or the horizontal pipe f2,ac-

. cording to whether the latter is closed or not.

When the latter is closed, the former serves as an overflow-pipe for thebasin E, and when the latter is open the water is drained out from saidbasin.

In using my apparatus the ice may be putor the top opening in thecasing. The water as the ice melts serves as arefrigerant in the basin,in which it maybe allowed to flow, or

l it may be run off into a drain directly from the ice-chamber, if sodesired, by arranging 1 the valves in the pipes as heretofore indicated.

Having thu's fully described my invention,

1. In a refrigerator, an ice-chamber and its 2. In a refrigerator, theice-chamber having a closed bottom and supports resting in a basin, incombination with a pipe lea-ding from the chamber and having twobranches, one

1 leading to the basin and having acock, the 1 other leading outside ofsaid basin and having a cock-controlled connection with said l basin, asand for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK A. WAL-IN.

Vitnesses:

FRANK ONEIL, WILLIAM H. CHADsEY.

